Murphy has now told Deadline that the writers considered echoing the circumstances of Monteith's death on the show.

"At one point, we were going to have his character die after an accidental drug overdose," he said. "That was something we had considered. But we have decided that we're not going to have him pass from that."

Murphy continued: "Basically, what we're doing in the episode is we are not telling you yet, or maybe not at all, how that character died. The idea being, how somebody died is interesting and maybe morbid, but we say very early on in the episode, 'This episode is about a celebration of that character's life'. That might be weird for some people, but it felt really exploitative to do it any other way."

Murphy confirmed that the cast have struggled to return to work following Monteith's death, explaining that while they have had "solace" in being together, there have been "tears on set".

"It's been hard for a lot of people," he said. "But the really difficult thing is coming. We start shooting the memorial episode this week. We're just now finishing it, and at the end of the week we'll send it to [the studio] to get their approvals. But I think it turned out to be a lovely tribute, and it's a very heartfelt look at how young people grieve."

Murphy, who confirmed that the cast and crew will take a break after the episode is finished, added: "We loved Cory and we loved Finn and it feels like a huge loss and a huge heartache not to have either of them around. We're trying to craft an episode that's not just about us grieving but about a lot of the young fans grieving."

A number of Glee stars have spoken out about Monteith's death, while his girlfriend and co-star Lea Michele gave an emotional tribute at Sunday's Teen Choice Awards.